Operation Smile: The Smile Concert '13

On January the 26th, the Operation Smile club at ISK, along with the Composers' Club, held our 2nd annual Smile Concert. The club had been organizing the logistics of this concert for almost two months before this, and we were all very excited when the time finally came to have the concert. We had taken everything we learnt from the first Operation Smile concert that we held last year, and used it to make this concert as good as we could. We decided to make the theme of the concert "New Years'", and sold New Years' resolutions accordingly. We also sold Operation Smile shirts and hats at the concert so as to collect extra funds. The Composers' Club members had been working very hard to perfect their pieces, and were also very excited when it was finally their chance to perform.

The concert was a huge success. The Composers' Club songs were great, and everyone who attended the concert had an amazing time. I was also very proud of all of the Operation Smile club members' who helped out, as they showed determination to make the concert special. We managed to raise nearly 2,000 dollars, which can pay for 8 surgeries! I hope that next year, the new Operation Smile club Presidents will carry on having these annual concerts, as they are a great and enjoyable way to raise lots of funds for OSMIK.

Jazz Band/ Piano Overall Evaluation

I have now been in the Jazz Band for 6 months or so, and have greatly enjoyed it. Although I have been playing piano for many years, the Jazz Band has given me the opportunity to play music with other students, and to perform at various venues. We have been playing increasingly challenging music, and I enjoy this as it pushes me to try harder and improve my playing. I sometimes find it difficult to find the time to practice all of the songs because of the workload I have for the IB, but when I do have the time to practice, I find that it is a great way to relax and to release stress. The music that I play for the Jazz Band and for my own private lessons has really helped me to become a better piano player, and has improved my playing technique.

When I joined the Jazz Band, my main objective was to get rid of my fear of playing piano in front of others and performing at public venues, and the Jazz Band has definitely helped me to overcome this fear. Initially, I was very nervous about performing, but now, after having performed more than 4 times at 4 different venues, I look forward to the next performance. I enjoy being able to perform with other students who have a passion for music, and will miss this group when I leave for university. I will take what I have learnt from my time as a member of the Jazz Band with me to university, and I will hopefully be able to become part of a group like this when I am there.

Habitat for Humanity: Building Trip #3

On the 16th of January, I went on my final building trip with the Habitat for Humanity group from ISK! We once again travelled to Kangemi to work on painting the Morningstar Youth Education Center. When we arrived at the school, I noticed how much nicer it looked compared to the first time we visited. Our work during the previous Habitat trip made the school look much cleaner, and I was happy that our work had made the staff and students of the school delighted. We immediately got to work. 

I, along with 3 other students, took on the job of painting the floors of the classrooms. There were 5 classrooms in total, and although we knew that we would not have enough time or paint to finish all of the rooms, we tried our hardest to finish as many as we could in the short amount of time that we had. Painting the floors was not a particularly tiring job, but the fumes of the paint were really having an effect on us! We took frequent breaks so we could breathe in fresh air, but this did not prevent us from getting a lot done. By the end of the trip, we had painted 4 of the 5 rooms completely. They floors looked great, and really brightened up rooms. We would have managed to finish the 5th room as well as we had time leftover but, unfortunately, the paint had finished! The students that took part in the Global Issues Service Summit travelled to the school this weekend, however, and finished everything else. 

This trip was very bitter-sweet for me. Although I was overjoyed with the work we had done at Morningstar, I was sad that I would never work with the Habitat for Humanity club at ISK again. I kept thinking about all the amazing experiences I have had with the club during the past 4 years, and I will definitely miss it. I really hope that I can become involved with Habitat for Humanity again in university!

Habitat for Humanity: Building Trip #2

My second building trip with the Habitat for Humanity club this year took place on the 8th of December. We travelled to Kangemi, an area close to ISK, to work on a school called Morningstar Youth Education Center. This was the first time that we went to a school for a Habitat trip, and was a big transition as we had always helped build houses on building trips. I was therefore eager to see what work we would be doing and how different it would be from the usual Habitat trips. We made it our mission to "transform" the school in 5 hours, and make it a more enjoyable environment for the many children who attend.

 Our main jobs were leveling the grounds of the school and painting and fixing the walls. I helped to paint and to fix one of the walls in a classroom. This was very different from the work I usually do on Habitat trips, as it did not involve mixing cement or laying foundations. Although it was not as tiring, painting the inside of the classrooms was difficult due to the fumes of the paint, which were almost unbearable. We had to take frequent breaks so as to breathe in some fresh air, and the painting therefore took a bit longer than we had expected. What I really enjoyed about this trip was the teamwork. Everyone pitched in and helped out, including Morningstar staff members and our bus driver. This sense of teamwork kept us all going for the 5 hours, and allowed us to make some great improvements to the school.
After 5 hours, we were ready to go home. The improvements that we had made at the school were very noticeable. The ground had become leveled, the walls were freshly painted and therefore much cleaner than before, and the rooms were brighter. The school looked much better than it did when we first arrived, but the work was not yet finished. We will therefore be returning to Morningstar for the next building trip, and will hopefully make the school even nicer.

Final Intercultural Trip to the Kenyan Coast!

The ISK seniors went on an intercultural trip to the Kenyan coast on the 28^th of January to the 1^st of February. The trip incorporated all aspects of CAS, as we were able to take part in activities that involved action, creativity, and service to the local community. On the first day of the trip, we had the opportunity to interact with the culture at the coast by learning about coconut processing. I learned that the coconut is very important to the community as it can be used for many purposes. Besides being used as a food source, various parts of the coconut can also be used to clean shoes, make oil for cooking, make coconut “milk”, feed chickens, and make wigs! I did not know about the majority of these uses before the first day of the trip, and was very surprised that a coconut can be so useful to the community. I felt slightly guilty after learning about all this, as I only eat the “meat” of the coconut and throw the rest of the fruit away, whereas the coastal community cherishes every part of the fruit and does not waste any of it.

On the first day of the trip, we also learned how to make makuti, which is used as roofing. Each of us got the opportunity to make a piece of makuti, and although it was tedious work, I had a lot of fun doing it. I realized how I, as a member of western society, can often take things for granted that are very useful to people who are living in poverty. I began to understand how much rural Kenyan communities rely on plants such as the makuti plant. Without it, they would not be able to create roofs for their houses.

The second day of the trip was the most enjoyable for me. It was my first time scuba diving in the ocean! I, along with several other unlicensed students, were shown the basics of scuba diving on a boat ride to Kisite Marine Park, were geared up, and then allowed to scuba dive. At first, I was slightly frightened, and was picturing everything that could possibly go wrong in my head. However, I was also very excited, and all of my fears vanished the second that I went underwater and began to concentrate on the amazing marine life. I was most impressed by the blue stingray that I saw, and was thrilled that I could go so close to it. I was also impressed by the coral, and appreciated its beauty for the first time. This experience allowed me to see firsthand how devastating pollution can be to marine life, and how immediate action needs to be taken to save coral reefs. I am now determined to become a licensed scuba diver!

The third day of the trip was the most challenging one, yet the most rewarding. We spent the majority of the morning helping to build the foundation for a dispensary at the hospital near the camp that we were staying at. We did this under the scorching sun, which made the work that much more sweat inducing! I spent the majority of the time shoveling the dirt that was removed from the site into wheelbarrows, and therefore, this day greatly resembled a Habitat for Humanity build for me. I was very happy that I could play a role in building this dispensary, as the lady who owned the hospital told us that she does not receive a lot of help from the Kenyan government, and appreciated volunteers like us who were willing to help out. Building a dispensary was especially meaningful for me as I want to be a doctor in the future, and I felt privileged to be able to help Kenyans get access to healthcare. In the afternoon, I worked in a tree farm, and although the work associated with this was not nearly as challenging, I learnt a lot about how used bottles and sand alone can be used to create an entire tree farm!

The fourth day of the trip was a beach day. We started the day by doing a beach clean up, and I was shocked by some of the things that I found, including a used needle attached to a syringe. In just half an hour, we managed to fill up 4 large trash bags by cleaning a 100-meter strip of the beach. This made me realize just how much littering occurs at the beach, and I was angered by this. We then used the flip flops that we had collected from the beach clean up to make bracelets, juggling balls, key chains, etc. It was great to see people putting these used flip-flops to use in creative ways, and reducing the amount of litter on the beach as a result. We spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends on the beach, and we had a great time!

On Friday, we departed for Nairobi. I had mixed emotions about this, because on the one hand, I missed sleeping in my own bed, but on the other hand, I did not want to leave the place that had given me such great experiences and memories. This IC trip definitely taught me a great deal about the culture at the coast, and I am happy that I had the opportunity to interact with it and experience it fully!